Glasgow & South Western Railway Manson '8' (LMS'1P') class 4-4-0 No. 78. Built at Kilmarnock in July 1893 and withdrawn in October 1930 as LMS No. 14165.

The location is a mystery, but there are two very interesting features in this fine portrait. The first is James Manson's unusual design of the 8-wheel tender, with a leading bogie and two rigid trailing axles. The second I almost missed until I was restoring the image. A cheeky young Miss in her best Sunday hat has decided to risk the wrath of the official photographer and she is peeking out from behind the leading bogie. Thus is she immortalised in celluloid - or pixels if you wanna be pedantic. Priceless stuff!

Restored from an original period 8"x10" print.

© Steve Armitage Collection